Microsoft has admitted to accidentally installing the new OneDrive app on Windows 11 PCs and explained that there is currently no easy way to remove it.

Microsoft explained to Windows Latest, a Windows-focused media outlet, that it had mistakenly distributed its AI-powered OneDrive Photos app to a wider audience than intended. The app is still in beta and is only designed to work with personal Microsoft accounts, but it has been distributed to enterprise accounts, causing confusion.

Microsoft confirms it accidentally installed new OneDrive app on Windows 11 PCs, and there's no easy way to remove it yet

Around August 1, 2026, an app called 'OneDrive Photos' began to be distributed to some Windows users. This app specializes in displaying photos from local storage and OneDrive, and includes features such as randomly displaying past photos. However, this app was in beta and only works with personal accounts, but it was also distributed to users with Windows Enterprise licenses intended for businesses, which caused user dissatisfaction.

Furthermore, OneDrive Photos cannot be uninstalled using the usual methods; it cannot be removed from the PC unless OneDrive itself is uninstalled. Because it is installed automatically and forcibly displayed in the Start menu, many people were confused.

Windows Latest, who contacted Microsoft about this matter, has shared their response. According to Microsoft, the distribution of OneDrive Photos was unintentional, and they explained, 'We are developing a new photo experience with OneDrive, but it has spread more widely than we anticipated on Windows.'

Microsoft has stated that it is working on fixing the delivery error and also plans to allow users to delete OneDrive Photos separately from OneDrive. However, while the app will be automatically removed from enterprise accounts centrally managed by Microsoft Intune, it will not be uninstalled from personal accounts.

Windows Latest reviews state, 'OneDrive Photos loads your gallery from OneDrive.com and works very well with Microsoft Edge-based WebView2. While it typically uses less than 1GB of memory on a PC with 32GB of RAM, this can reach 1-2GB when viewing many images or navigating multiple pages. OneDrive Photos is by no means a bad app and functions perfectly well.'